Chapter 84: Chapter Eighty: Whose Young Lady
Translator: 549690339
This man is truly stubborn, Tang Luo shakes his head.
Although his interaction with Tu Tong hasn’t been long, he could see that the gruff warrior before him is actually a simple man, even somewhat impulsive. Telling his master that he wanted to live a life on the run and requesting the termination of his contract, is that something an ordinary person could do?
It could only be said that the strapping man in front of him was particularly trusting in himself, which made Tang Luo feel it was necessary to prevent him from doing something irretrievably foolish.
“As your master, I command you to tell me everything from the beginning to the end. Afterward, I will consider whether to release you from the contract. Tang Luo’s words left no room for negotiation.
Tu Tong hung his head low, humiliation and madness swirling in his eyes. When he lifted his head again, he was full of determination: “The hatred of wife snatching is unbearable.”
Tang Luo was stunned, not understanding what he meant. According to the information given by the Martial Hall, Tu Tong had never married, had no children, so where would this hatred of wife snatching come from?
“Aren’t you unmarried?”
“Although not legally married, we are pledged to each other for life. In my heart, she is already my wife.”
The expression on Tang Luo’s face was strange. If a scholar said these words, it would make sense, but when a brawny man with a scary scar on his face and a bald head said these literary words, it was unbearable to listen to.
It wasn’t that he was judging a book by its cover, but such a brute shouldn t resort to the tactic of kidnapping and violating someone, this life-long pact seemed oddly out of character.
But looking at it this way, that didn’t seem too complicated. It probably was an official proposal to a family’s young lady, so he only needed to steal her away before it happened. Why did he need to live a life on the run?
“You should just ask for her hand in marriage directly. Are you planning to snatch her away?” Tang Luo felt this was inappropriately done. According to mainland customs, parental decisions and matchmaker’s words are mainstream, secret lifelong pacts and free love are minority.
Forcibly snatching a girl is even more unacceptable. What would you do if it forced the girl to leave her homeland? Run away and live on the road with you? She may not understand, but you, as an adult man, should know better.
Tu Tong’s face flushed red with embarrassment, barely squeezing out a few words between clenched teeth: “I am penniless.
Tang Luo covered his face, couldn’t bear to hear it.
So forcing a top-tier warrior of the Mortal Realm to take such a risk was all because of some money? But thinking about it again, it seemed unbelievable.
“You are a top-tier warrior of the Mortal Realm, and also receive an annual salary of 150,000 gold from Star Pavilion. Is there a girl who needs so much money that even a marriage proposal isn’t enough?” Tang Luo couldn’t believe it. After all, since men are generally more aggressive, any fight will result in some deaths, most of which are men.
With men dying in large numbers, the male-female ratio naturally becomes unbalanced. Having more women than men is the norm everywhere, even in peaceful Xiling for hundreds of years. So, generally, as long as the man’s quality is passable, the woman’s side still has to provide quite a bit of dowry. Although Tu Tong’s background and appearance are average, he is a peak warrior of the Mortal Realm, holds an annual salary of 150,000 gold, which constitutes good conditions.
Is the other party’s threshold so high? Tang Luo was very curious.
Tu Tong gritted his teeth and said, “They want exactly that much, not a penny less.”
This isn’t getting your daughter married; this is blatantly selling your daughter. Tang Luo found it disgusting, but he didn’t want to interfere in people’s private affairs, so he said, “Just take three years’ salary from the account for now, it’s not a big deal.”
“Master!” Tu Tong’s eyes were filled with gratitude, he was at a loss for words. In Tang Luo’s view, if you can afford to pay, it’s not too expensive. A salary of 150,000 for a stationed warrior per year, 500,000 is just a bit over three years. Perhaps the girl’s family is just testing whether he is willing. To marry their daughter to such a brute, it’s hard to guarantee that they don’t have doubts.
Feeling that the matter had been resolved, Tang Luo got up and lunged at Tu Tong, elbowing his belly, and asked gossipingly, “So, which Miss of which family promised you a lifelong pact?”
Tu Tong touched his bald head and answered honestly: “It’s Miss Tianxiang Building.”
“Oh, Tianxiang Building, hmm.” Tang Luo nodded and smiled, but then his face froze.
“Are you saying, the young lady who privately agreed to be with you for a lifetime, is from Tianxiang Building?”
Tu Tong nodded, taking the matter very seriously.
Tang Luo looked up and down at the robust man before him, only to feel that he could no longer see him in the same light as before.
That’s because Tianxiang Building was the highest-ranked place in Xiling for squandering money on music, wine, and beautiful women.
Whether you desired voluptuous women or innocent children, slim or plump ones, or mature women in their prime, Tianxiang Building had the best of them all.
If you could think it, then Tianxiang Building could provide it. Although Tang Luo had never been to Tianxiang Building, he was definitively certain that the wealthiest place in Xiling must have been backed by the Tang
Clan.
The logic was straightforward: the richest venues in a city were usually controlled by its most powerful clans.
Food, salt, wine, gambling, and carnal pleasures. Those most profitable businesses in the North City undoubtedly belonged to the Tang Clan, and in the South City, without question, they belonged to the Mi Clan.
Even if a venue wasn’t initially owned by the Tang Clan, once it was opened in the North City, it would invariably become part of the Tang Clan’s empire. Sometimes prestigious families can be domineering like this.
Tang Luo hesitated upon learning from his steward, Tu Tong, that the woman he loved was from Tianxiang Building.
It wasn’t centered around money or reluctance to harm his own business. Rather, Tang Luo was skeptical about the mutual affection Tu Tong mentioned.
As a child, Tang Luo had enjoyed the singing and dancing performances from Tianxiang Building at annual gatherings, where he was seated relatively far toward the back because Tang Sen had not yet become the First Head of the Martial Hall back then.
Even now, he could vaguely remember the comments he overhead about Tianxiang Building from the other clan members seated around him.
Prostitutes from Tianxiang Building differed from the rest; all the women were groomed from a young age, trained in music, dance, and the arts of pleasure, along with the most significant talent of all: how to please a man.
Delighting countless with one pair of tender arms, satisfying thousands with just a one delicate smile. The idea that such a woman would pledge herself privately to any one person was simply inconceivable.
After pondering for quite a while, Tang Luo asked, “So that five hundred thousand is to buy her freedom?”
“Yes, sir,” Tu Tong replied, a bit awkwardly. If it weren’t for this unexpected twist, his plan would have been to serve as a steward for just two more years and then buy back Su Mei’s freedom.
Since a Martial Hall’s bonus was paid in advance, he would receive four hundred fifty thousand gold by the beginning of the third year. Plus, with his own savings, he would have just enough. Thereafter, he could use his third year’s salary to purchase a house, giving them a home of their own. However, the sudden appearance of the Young Master from Mi Clan had disrupted his plans. Holding the letter that Su Mei had given him, he felt as though all his hopes were dashed, and his life had lost all its color.
It was then that this ruthless warrior discovered that he had truly fallen deeply in love with Su Mei.
Despite being acutely aware of the imposing powers of the clans, Tu Tong, after careful consideration, decided to kidnap her.
And that led to the scene where he requested to resign from Tang Luo.
Tu Tong’s madness was clear to Tang Luo, but his feeling now was completely different.
Keep in mind that to set up his Star Pavilion from scratch only took several hundred thousand gold. Now a mere prostitute was worth as much as a tower. “No wonder it is said that a beauty’s smile can topple an entire city,” he sighed. Looking at Tu Tong’s devotion, he reckoned that not even five million gold would make Tu Tong hesitate.
This peak Mortal Realm warrior, up till now, only ever wore a set of mortal grade armor, and day and night he practiced in the pavilion without any additional expenses.
Yet, he was willing to devote all he had for a woman, proving once again that women do indeed conquer the world by conquering men.
However, if both parties are willing, one to hit, and one to take the hit, Tang Luo had no intention to interfere. After all, it was just a matter of money..
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